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THE 



RULES AND BY-LAWS 



OF THE 

$oarb of ©bcrseers of parkrft College; 

TO WHICH IS APPENDED 

THE COLLEGE CHARTER. 

WITH 

SUNDRY ACTS AND INSTRUMENTS RELATING TO THE 
POWERS AND DUTIES OF THE OVERSEERS. 




CAMBRIDGE : 
PRESS OF JOHN WILSON AND SON. 

1877. 









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F-. _' "_..".-. 



Etsorfi. That the Boles mud By-Laws of the Board 

: r . . . « > : v ; "2 - : : 2 ." ' - \ . :.: f I 12 I . r " :r. ". 
up in the existing hooks of the Boles. By-Laws. Charter, 
22 i ::'::: A::= " 2 " '::•::::.::■: rf : 72_ :: ::;, ; : - r r« :.2: 
duties of the Overseers, in place of the Boles and By- 
1;. — « ;.:... :..r.: Ai-.r::zr"f 2 : — 12 - :.2 : :-:kj '-'--- '--- 
first eighteen pages of said hooks, and the Amendments to 

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passed July 12, 183 vember 29, lb" 

ALEXAXDE7. TIE. 






RULES AND BY-LAWS 



OVERSEERS OF HARVARD COLLEGE. 



OFEICERS. 

Section 1. — The officers of the Board shall 
be a President and Secretary. 

Sect. 2. — The President shall be elected 
by ballot, at each annual meeting ; and shall 
hold his office for one year, and until his suc- 
cessor is chosen, if he so long continues a 
member of the Board. When a vacancy 
exists at any other time, it shall be filled for 
the remainder of the term. In the absence 
of the President, a president pro tempore shall 
be chosen by ballot. ' 

Sect. 3. — The Secretary, who may or 
may not be a member of the Board, shall be 



4 EULES AND BY-LAWS. 

elected by ballot at the annual meeting in the 
year 1868, and every third year thereafter, and 
shall hold his office for the term of three years, 
and until his successor is elected and qualified. 
When a vacancy occurs at any other time, it 
shall be filled by election for the remainder of 
the term. In the absence of the Secretary, a 
secretary pro tempore shall be chosen. 

MEETINGS. 

Section 4. — The annual meeting of the Over- 
seers shall be held in Boston, on the second 
Wednesday of July. The other stated meet- 
ings shall be held at Cambridge on Commence- 
ment Day, and at Boston on the second 
Wednesdays of January, April, and October in 
each year, at some central place to be selected 
by the Secretary, unless designated by the 
Board. Special meetings will be convened 
upon application made to the Secretary, in writ- 
ing, by the President of the Board, by the 
President or President and Fellows of the Col- 
lege, or by seven or more Overseers, setting 



BULES AND BY-LAWS. 5 

forth the object of the meeting, its time and 
its place, either in Cambridge or - Boston. 
Meetings may be held by adjournment at such 
times and places as the Board shall order. 

Sect. 5. — Notice of all meetings of the 
Board, and of all adjournments thereof, shall 
be given by the Secretary, or, in case of his 
absence, inability, or neglect, or of a vacancy in 
the office, by the President: the notification 
of the meeting to specify its time and place, 
and, if a special one, its object ; and to be 
mailed to the address of each member at least 
seven days, and published in not less than two 
newspapers of Boston at least three days, before 
the time of the meeting. Provided, that in the 
case of a special meeting, alleged in the appli- 
cation therefor to be one of great urgency, 
notice will be sufficient if mailed four days 
before the same. And provided further, that 
the Board may, in adjourning from day to day, 
dispense with notice thereof by the Secretary. 

Sect. 6. — The votes and proceedings of 
the Overseers, with the names of the mem- 



b RULES AXD BY-LAWS. 

bers present at each meeting, shall be re- 
corded ; and the record shall be produced by 
the Secretary at the Overseers' meetings. At 
the opening of every meeting, the journal of the 
preceding meeting shall be read by the Sec- 
retary, unless otherwise ordered. 

Sect. 7. — The Secretary shall have a list 
of the Overseers, ready to be produced at 
any meeting. He shall also acquaint the 
presiding officer, in writing, what Commit- 
tees have not reported, and what business is 
by assignment to come before the Board. 

Sect. 8. — A quorum of not less than nine 
members shall be requisite for the transaction 
of any business, except adjourning, or ob- 
taining the attendance of members. 

Sect. 9. — There shall be laid before the 
Overseers, as soon as may be after the close of 
the fiscal year, by the President of the Univer- 
sity, a statement, authenticated by the Treas- 
urer, of the expenses of the Institution during 
the past college year. 

Sect. 10. — There shall always be presented 



RULES AND BY-LAWS. 7 

an attested copy of such votes of the Cor- 
poration as are laid before the Overseers for 
their confirmation ; and the Secretary shall, from 
time to time, and as soon as conveniently may 
be, deliver to the President of the University an 
attested copy of the votes of the Overseers, to 
be by him communicated to the Corporation. 

Sect. 11. — The Overseers will not receive 
any votes from the Corporation as to giving 
degrees on Commencement Day, except such 
as shall be presented before ten o'clock in the 
forenoon of that day ; and the grounds and 
reasons of the Corporation for conferring 
occasional degrees shall be laid before the 
Overseers. 

Sect. 12. — When the consent of the Over- 
seers shall be asked to a vote of the Corporation 
electing any person to be an officer of instruc- 
tion or government or a lecturer in the Univer- 
sity, or conferring on any person an honorary 
degree, the decision shall be by ballot ; except 
in the case of Proctors, when the question may 
be taken orally or by resolution. 



8 RULES AND BY-LAWS. 

Sect. 13. — No nomination of a member of 
the Corporation or of a permanent Professor 
shall be ratified by the Board, except at a 
meeting or adjournment held on seven days' 
notice ; nor shall any such nomination be 
finally acted on at the meeting or adjourn- 
ment at which it shall have been made. 

Sect. 14. — All Committees shall be nomi- 
nated by the presiding officer, excepting in 
those cases where it may be otherwise deter- 
mined by the Overseers ; and the person first 
named shall be chairman. 

Sect. 15. — When any member shall require 
a question to be determined by yeas and nays, 
the President shall take the sense of the Board 
in that manner, provided that one fourth part 
of the members present shall be in favor of it. 

Sect. 16. — Whenever a question shall be 
taken by yeas and nays, the Secretary shall 
call the names of all the members, except the 
President ; and no member shall be permitted 
to vote after the decision is announced from 
the chair. 



RULES AND BY-LAWS. \) 

Sect. 17. — No member shall speak more 
than once on one question, to the prevention 
of any other who has not spoken, and is de- 
sirous to speak ; nor more than twice, without 
leave of the Board. 

Sect. 18. — When two or more members 
rise at once, the President shall name the 
member who is to speak first. 

Sect. 19. — Every member, when he 
speaks, shall stand in his place, and address 
the presiding officer as " Mr. President," and 
shall confine himself to the question under 
debate. 

Sect. 20. — No member speaking shall be 
interrupted by another, but by rising to call 
to order. 

Sect. 21. — After a question is put to vote, 
no member shall speak to it. 

Sect. 22. — Every motion shall be received 
and considered, and shall be reduced to writ- 
ing if the President direct it ; and no member 
shall be permitted to lay a motion in writing 
on the table, until he has read it in his place. 



10 RULES AND BY-LAWS. 

Sect. 23. — A question containing two or 
more propositions capable of division shall be 
divided, whenever desired by any member. 

Sect. 24. — If any member shall rise to 
doubt a vote upon its being declared from the 
chair, the President shall ascertain the number 
voting in the affirmative and in the negative, 
without any further debate. He may vote on 
all questions ; but shall not be required to do 
so, unless the Board shall be equally divided, 
or unless his vote, if given in the minority, 
would affect the result. 

Sect. 25. — When a vote has passed, it 
shall be in order for any member to move a 
reconsideration on the same day ; and, when 
a motion for reconsideration is decided, that 
decision shall not be reconsidered. 

Sect. 26. — The rules of parliamentary pro- 
ceeding, as received and practised in the Legis- 
lature of this Commonwealth, shall govern the 
Board in all cases to which they are applicable, 
and in which they are not inconsistent with 
these Rules and By-Laws. 



RULES AND BY-LAWS. 11 



COMMITTEES. 

Section 27. — There shall be the following 
Committees, — the first to consist wholly of 
ex officio members ; the others to be appointed 
at the annual meeting, or at some subsequent 
meeting, in such manner as the Board may- 
determine : — 

1. — A Committee to visit the University, to consist 
of the President and Secretary of this Board, the Gov- 
ernor and Lieutenant-Governor of the Commonwealth, 
the President of the Senate, the Speaker of the House 
of Representatives, the Secretary of the Board of 
Education, and the Chairman of each of the other 
Visiting Committees. This Committee will be expected 
to attend the annual Commencement and other public 
exercises of the University, or any of its departments, 
and to represent this Board and the Commonwealth 
thereat ; the President of the College, or some other 
officer charged with the duty,, giving the members of 
said Committee due notice of such occasions. 

2. — A Committee to visit the Academical Depart- 
ment, or College proper, to consist of at least nine 
members, six of whom shall be elective members of 
this Board. The duty of this Committee shall be' to 
learn what are the methods of government and instruc- 
tion in the Academical Department, to make them- 
selves personally acquainted with the mode in which 
. the daily recitations and private and public examina- 



12 RULES AND BY-LAWS. 

tions are conducted, and, in general, to take such 
measures, and distribute the work in such manner, as 
in their judgment will best enable them to report in 
full on the condition, wants, and prospects of the insti- 
tution. 

3. — A Committee to visit the Divinity School. 

4. — A Committee to visit the Law School. 

5. — A Committee to visit the Lawrence Scientific 
School and the Bussey Institution, the Peabody Mu- 
seum of American Archaeology and Ethnology, and 
the Museum of Comparative Zoology. 

6. — A Committee to visit the Medical School and 
the Dental School. 

7. — A Committee to visit the Observatory. 

8. — A Committee to visit the Library, five of whom 
shall be members of this Board. 

9. — A Committee to examine the Treasurer's ac- 
counts, of whom at least three shall be elective mem- 
bers of this Board. 

10. — A Committee on Elections, to consist of ^ye 
elective members of this Board, whose duty is assigned 
in Section 38 of these rules and by-laws. 

11. — A Committee on Reports and Resolutions, to 
consist of seven elective members of this Board : whose 
duty shall be to receive the annual reports of the sev- 
eral Committees, after they have been read before this 
Board, and consider and report whether any and, if 
any, what action is called for by the same ; and also to 
attend to any other business that may be referred to 
them, from time to time, by this Board, and to report 
thereon. 



RULES AND BY-LAWS. 13 

Sect. 28. — Each elective member of this 
Board shall be upon one or more of the above- 
mentioned Committees. Each Visiting Commit- 
tee shall consist of seven or more members, the 
chairman of which shall be an elective member 
of this Board. But persons not Overseers may- 
be appointed to serve on any of the Visiting 
Committees, or on the Committee to examine 
the Treasurer's accounts, if specially qualified 
for the duty ; the same not to interfere with 
any express provision elsewhere made. The 
chairman of each of the Committees, except 
the Committee to visit the University, shall 
notify each member of the Committee, not an 
Overseer, of his election, with a request that 
he serve ; and in case of his failure to accept, 
or of any vacancy in any such place, the Com- 
mittee shall fill the same. 

Sect. 29. — The apparatus, libraries, and 
scientific collections belonging to the several 
departments of the University shall be exam- 
ined and reported on by the Committees ap- 
pointed to visit said departments respectively. 



14 KULES AND BY-LAWS. 

Sect. 30. — The several Visiting Commit- 
tees, except that appointed to visit the Uni- 
versity, shall report in writing at the stated 
meeting in October ; and their reports, after 
they have been read before the Board, shall 
be referred to the Committee on Reports and 
Resolutions. 

Sect. 31. — After the report of the last- 
mentioned Committee is received and acted on 
by this Board, a certified copy of the record of 
said action, together with the reports on which 
it is founded, shall be referred to the Cor- 
poration. 

ELECTIONS. 

Section 32. — The election of Overseers on 
Commencement Day in each year, shall be held 
in some suitable room within the College yard, 
in Cambridge ; notice of the time and place 
of which, and of the hours during which the 
polls will be kept open, and of the number 
of Overseers to be elected, including the va- 
cancies to be filled, with the terms for which 



RULES AND BY-LAWS. 15 

they are to be chosen, shall be given by the 
President and Secretary, by publication in two 
newspapers printed in the city of Boston, the 
first publication to be two weeks before the day 
of election. 

Sect. 33. — At some meeting before each 
election, there shall be appointed by the Board, 
upon nomination by the President, one principal 
and two assistant inspectors of polls, who, be- 
fore entering upon their duties, shall be sworn 
to the faithful discharge thereof. 

Sect. 34. — The President and Secretary 
shall issue a warrant under their hands to the 
persons appointed inspectors of polls ; specify- 
ing the number of Overseers to be elected, 
including the vacancies to be filled, with the 
terms for which they are to be chosen, and 
directing said inspectors to conduct the elec- 
tion in manner and form as the law provides, 
with such other instructions as to their duties 
as maybe deemed proper: and shall furnish 
said inspectors with a record book and a com- 
plete list of the persons qualified to vote, to be 
used as a check list. 



16 RULES AJSCD BY-LAW-. 

Sect. 35. — The ins] shall carefully 

preserve all the ballots cast. and. after making 
their record thereof, shall cause the same to be 
sealed up in an envelope, which shall be in- 
dorsed with a certificate, under their hands. 
that the same contains all the ballots cast at 
the election for the officers therein specified, 
and none other. Immediately after the elec- 
tion, they shall deliver such envelope, so 
sealed and indorsed, with said record book. 
upon which they shall have entered their 
records, and said check list, to the Secretary 
of the Board. 

Sect. 36. — The Secretary shall forthwith 
notify the persons who appear by the records 
of the inspectors to be elected ; and such per- 
sons shall be entitled to their seats as members, 
except as provided in the following section, and 
subject to the decision of the Board upon their 
right to hold the same. 

Sect. 37. — When a person is elected to fill 
a vacancy, he shall not be entitled to hold his 
seat until the Board shall have decided his right 



RULES AND BY-LAWS. 17 

thereto, if the person in whose place he was 
elected appears and claims the same. 

Sect. 38. — The records and papers of the 
inspectors of polls shall be laid before the 
Board at the next assembling thereof after 
the election, and the same shall be referred 
to the Committee on Elections for their exami- 
nation and report ; but they need not examine 
the ballots returned, unless specially directed 
so to do by the Board. 

ALTERATION AND SUSPENSION OF RULES. 

Section 39. — Any rule or by-law maybe 
altered or suspended by the vote of a majority 
of the members of the Board at the annual or 
other stated meeting, thereof, or at any special 
meeting called with notice of a proposal to 
alter or suspend the same; and may be 
altered or suspended by a vote of two-thirds 
of the members of the Board, and may be sus- 
pended by the unanimous consent of the mem- 
bers present and voting; except the 13th 



18 EULES AXD BY-LATVS. 

section, which shall never be suspended, and 
shall never be altered or repealed, except at 
a meeting held at least seven days after the 
day on which the alteration or repeal is pro- 
posed. 



CHARTER AND LAWS. 



CHAKTER AND LAWS. 



The Act establishing the Overseers of 
Harvard College. 

At a General Court held at Boston, on the 8th of 
September, in the year 1642. 

Whereas, through the good hand of God 
upon us, there is a College founded in Cam- 
bridge, in the County of Middlesex, called 
Harvard College, for the encouragement 
whereof this Court has given the sum of four 
hundred pounds, and also the revenue of the 
ferry betwixt Charlestown and Boston, and 
that the well ordering and managing of the 
said College is of great concernment, — 

It is therefore ordered by this Court and 
the authority thereof, that the Governor and 



22 ACT ESTABLISHING 

Deputy-Governor for the time being, and all 
the magistrates of this jurisdiction, together 
with the teaching elders of the six next ad- 
joining towns, — viz., Cambridge, Watertown, 
Charlestown, Boston, Roxbury, and Dorches- 
ter, — and the President of the said College 
for the time being, shall, from time to time, 
have full power and authority to make and 
establish all such orders, statutes, and con- 
stitutions as they shall see necessary for the 
instituting, guiding, and furthering of the said 
College, and the several members thereof, 
from time to time, in piety, morality, and 
learning ; as also to dispose, order, and man- 
age, to the use and behoof of the said College 
and the members thereof, all gifts, legacies, 
bequeaths, revenues, lands, and donations, as 
either have been, are, or shall be conferred, 
bestowed, or any ways shall fall or come to 
the said College. 

And whereas it may come to pass that many 
of the said magistrates and elders may be 



BOARD OF OVERSEERS. 23 

absent, or otherwise employed in other weighty 
affairs, when the said College may need their 
present help and counsel, — It is therefore 
ordered, that the greater number of magis- 
trates and elders which shall be present, with 
the President, shall have the power of the 
whole. Provided, that if any constitution, 
order, or orders, by them made, shall be found 
hurtful unto the said College, or the mem- 
bers thereof, or to the weal public, then, upon 
appeal of the party or parties grieved unto 
the company of Overseers first mentioned, 
they shall repeal the said order or orders, if 
they shall see cause, at their next meeting, 
or stand accountable thereof to the next Gen- 
eral Court. 

[This act is copied from " The General Laws of the 
Massachusetts Colony, revised and published by order 
of the General Court in October, 1658 ; " which was 
the second edition of the Laws of the Colony, and was 
printed in 1660. It varies slightly in phraseology from 
the Act contained in the Records of the General Court, 
vol. ii. page 24.] 



24 CHARTER. 



II. 



The Charter of the President and Fellows 
of Harvard College, under the seal of 
the Colony of Massachusetts Bay, and 
bearing date may 31, a.d. 1650. 

Whereas, through the good hand of God, 
many well-devoted persons have been, and 
daily are, moved and stirred up to give and 
bestow sundry gifts, legacies, lands, and reve- 
nues, for the advancement of all good litera- 
ture, arts, and sciences, in Harvard College, 
in Cambridge, in the County of Middlesex, 
and to the maintenance of the President and 
Fellows, and for all accommodations of build- 
ings, and all other necessary provisions that 
may conduce to the education of the English 
and Indian youth of this country in knowl- 
edge and godliness, — 

It is therefore ordered and enacted by this 
Court and the authority thereof, that for the 
furthering of so good a work, and for the pur- 



CHARTER. 25 

poses aforesaid, from henceforth that the said 
College in Cambridge, in Middlesex, in New 
England, shall be a Corporation, consisting of 
seven persons, to wit, a President, five Fel- 
lows, and a Treasurer or Bursar ; and that 
Henry Dunster shall be the first President, 
Samuel Mather, Samuel Danforth, Mas- 
ters of Art, Jonathan Mitchell, Comfort 
Starr, and Samuel Eaton, Bachelors of Art, 
shall be the five Fellows, and Thomas Dan- 
forth to be present Treasurer, all of them 
being inhabitants in the Bay, and shall be the 
first seven persons of which the said Corpo- 
ration shall consist ; and that the said seven 
persons, or the greater number of them, pro- 
curing the presence of the Overseers of the 
College, and by their counsel and consent, 
shall have power, and are hereby authorized, 
at any time or times, to elect a new Presi- 
dent, Fellows, or Treasurer, so oft, and from 
time to time, as any of the said person or 
persons shall die or be removed ; which said 



26 CHAETEE. 

President and Fellows for the time being 
shall for ever hereafter, in name and fact, be 
one body politic and corporate in law, to all 
intents and purposes, and shall have perpet- 
ual succession, and shall be called by the 
name of President and Fellows of Harvard 
College, and shall from time to time be eli- 
gible as aforesaid : and. by that name, they 
and their successors shall and may purchase 
and acquire to themselves, or take and receive 
upon free gift and donation, any lands, tene- 
ments, or hereditaments, within this jurisdic- 
tion of the Massachusetts, not exceeding the 
value of five hundred pounds per annum, and 
any goods and sums of money whatsoever 
to the use and behoof of the said President, 
Fellows, and scholars of the said College ; 
and also may sue and plead, or be sued and 
impleaded, by the name aforesaid, in all courts 
and places of judicature within the jurisdic- 
tion aforesaid. 

And that the said President, with any 



CHARTER. 27 

three of the Fellows, shall have power, and 
are hereby authorized, when they shall think 
fit, to make and appoint a common seal for 
the use of the said Corporation. And the 
President and Fellows., or the major part of 
them, from time to time, may meet and choose 
such officers and servants for the College, 
and make such allowance to them, and them 
also to remove, and, after death or removal, 
to choose such others, and to make from 
time to time such orders and by-laws, for the 
better ordering and carrying-on the work of 
the College, as they shall think fit ; provided 
the said orders be allowed by the Overseers. 
And also that the President and Fellows, or 
major part of them, with the Treasurer, shall 
have power to make conclusive bargains for 
lands and tenements, to be purchased by the 
said Corporation for valuable considerations. 

And, for the better ordering of the govern- 
ment of the said College and Corporation, — 
Be it enacted by the authority aforesaid, that 



28 CHARTER. 

the President and three more of the Fellows 
shall and may from time to time, upon due 
warning or notice given by the President to 
the rest, hold a meeting for the debating and 
concluding of affairs concerning the profits 
and revenues of any lands, and disposing of 
their goods (provided that all the said dispos- 
ing^ be according to the will of the donors), 
and for direction in all emergent occasions, 
execution of all orders and by-laws, and for 
the procuring of a general meeting of all the 
Overseers and Society in great and difficult 
cases, and in cases of non-agreement : in all 
which cases aforesaid, the conclusion shall be 
made by the major part, the said President 
having a casting voice, the Overseers con- 
senting thereunto. And that all the aforesaid 
transactions shall tend to and for the use and 
behoof of the President, Fellows, scholars, 
and officers of the said College, and for all 
accommodations of buildings, books, and all 
other necessary provisions and furnitures as 



CHARTER. 29 

may be for the advancement and education of 
youth in all manner of good literature, arts, 
and sciences. 

And, further, be it ordered by this Court 
and the authority thereof, that all the lands, 
tenements, or hereditaments, houses, or reve- 
nues, within this jurisdiction, to the aforesaid 
President or College appertaining, not ex- 
ceeding the value of five hundred pounds 
per annum, shall from henceforth be freed 
from all civil impositions, taxes, and rates ; 
all goods to the said Corporation, or to any 
scholars thereof, appertaining, shall be ex- 
empted from all manner of toll, customs, and 
excise whatsoever ; and that the said Presi- 
dent, Fellows, and scholars, together with the 
servants, and other necessary officers to the 
said President or College appertaining, not 
exceeding ten, — viz., three to the President 
and seven to the College belonging, — shall 
be exempted from all personal civil offices, 
military exercises or services, watchings and 



30 APPENDIX. 

wardings ; and such of their estates, not ex- 
ceeding one hundred pounds a man, shall be 
free from all country taxes or rates whatso- 
ever, and none others. 

In witness whereof, the Court hath caused 
the seal of the Colony to be hereunto affixed. 
Dated the one and thirtieth day of the third 
month, called May, anno 1650. 

[l. s.] Tho: Dudley, Governor. 

[The above is a copy of the original Charter en- 
grossed on parchment, under the signature of Gov. 
Dudley, with the Colony seal appendant, in the custody 
of the President and Fellows of Harvard College. 
The Charter, varying slightly in phraseology, is also 
contained in the Records of the General Court, vol. 
iv. page 10.] 

III. 
Ax Appexdix to the College Charter, 

GRAXTED BY AX ACT OF THE GeXERAL COURT 
OF THE COLOXY PASSED-"A.D. 1657. 

At a General Court held at Boston, the l±th of 
October, 1657. 

In answer to certain proposals presented 
to this Court by the Overseers of Habvaed 



APPENDIX. 31 

College, as an appendix to the College Char- 
ter, it is ordered, — 

The Corporation shall have power, from 
time to time, to make such orders and by- 
laws, for the better ordering and carrying-on 
of the work of the College, as they shall see 
cause, without dependence upon the consent 
of the Overseers foregoing. Provided al- 
ways, that the Corporation shall be respon- 
sible unto, and those orders and by-laws shall 
be alterable by, the Overseers, according to 
their discretion. 

And when the Corporation shall hold a 
meeting, and agreeing with College servants, 
for making of orders and by-laws, for debat- 
ing and concluding of affairs concerning the 
profits and revenues of any lands or gifts, 
and the disposing thereof (provided that all 
the said disposals be according to the will of 
the donors), for managing of all emergent 
occasions, for the procuring of a general 
meeting of the Overseers and Society in great 



API 

and difficult cases, and in : non-agree- 

ment, and for all other College affairs to them 
pertaining. — in all aea the conclusion 

shall be valid, being made by the major part 
of the Corporation, the President having 
ng vote. Provided always, that, in :. 
things also, the v be respond ble bo the Over- 

ra as aforesaid. 

And in case the 'oration shall see 
cause to call a meeting of the Overseers 
the -hall think good to meet of 

them, it shall be sufficient unto the 
validity of College acts, that notice be given 
to the Overseers in the six towns mentioned 
in the printed law. anno 1642. when the rest 
of the Overseers, by reason of the remote- 
ness of their habitations, cann;: ; mveniently 
be acquainted therewith. 

"I taken from the Records of the General 

Comt, vol. iv. page 265.] 



CONFIRMATION OF CHARTER. 33 



IV. 



Extract from a Resolve of the Provincial 
General Court, passed a.d. 1707, declar- 
ing the College Charter of 1650 not 
repealed, and directing the president and 
Fellows of the College to exercise the 
Powers granted by it. 

At a Great and General Court for her Majesty's 
Province of the Massachusetts JBay, begun and 
held at Boston upon the 28th of May, 1707, and 
continued by several prorogations unto the '29th of 
October following, being the third session. 

IN COUNCIL. 

Thursday, Dec. 4, 1707. 

And inasmuch as the first foundation and 
establishment of that House [Harvard Col- 
lege, in Cambridge], and the government 
thereof, had its original from an act of the 
General Court, made and passed in the year 
1650, which has not been repealed or nulled, 



34 CONFIRMATION OF CHARTER. 

— the President and Fellows of the said Col- 
lege are directed, from time to time, to regu- 
late themselves according to the rules of the 
Constitution by the said Act prescribed, and 

to exercise the powers and authorities there- 
by granted for the government of that House, 
and the support thereof. 

v " i if, Dec. 6, 1707. 

The Representatives returned the Vote 
passed in Council, the 4th current, referring 
to the College, with their concurrence there- 
unto. 

By his Excellency the Governor, consented 
to, 

Joseph Dudley. 

"This Br-: ken from t : the Gen- 

eral Court, vol. viii.. page 344.] 



PROVISIONS OF THE CONSTITUTION. 35 



The Articles of the Constitution of the 
Commonwealth of Massachusetts, confirm- 
ing and securing to Harvard College 
the perpetual possession and enjoyment 
of all its Estates, Rights, Powers, and 
Privileges. 

CHAPTER V. 

Sect. I. — The University, 

Article 1. — Whereas our wise and pious 
ancestors, so early as the year one thousand six 
hundred and thirty-six, laid the foundation 
of Harvard College, in which University 
many persons of great eminence have, by the 
blessing of God, been initiated in those arts 
and sciences which qualified them for public 
employments both in Church and State ; and 
whereas the encouragement of arts and sci- 
ences and all good literature tends to the 
honor of God, the advantage of the Christian 
religion, and the great benefit of this and 



36 PROVISIONS OF THE CONSTITUTION. 

the other United States of America, — It is 
declared that the President and Fellows of 
Harvard College in their corporate capacity, 
and their successors in that capacity, their 
officers and servants, shall have, hold, use, 
exercise, and enjoy all the powers, authori- 
ties, rights, liberties, privileges, immunities, 
and franchises which they now have, or are 
entitled to have, hold, use, exercise, and en- 
joy ; and the same are hereby ratified and 
confirmed unto them, the said President and 
Fellows of Harvard College, and to their 
successors, and to their officers and servants 
respectively, for ever. 

Art. 2. — And whereas there have been at 
sundry times, by divers persons, gifts, grants, 
devises of houses, lands, tenements, goods, 
chattels, legacies, and conveyances, hereto- 
fore made either to Harvard College, in Cam- 
bridge, in New England, or to the President 
and Fellows of Harvard College, or to the 
said College by some other description, under 



PROVISIONS OF THE CONSTITUTION". 37 

several charters successively, — It is declared 
that all the said gifts, grants, devises, lega- 
cies, and conveyances are hereby for ever 
confirmed unto the President and Fellows of 
Harvard College, and to their successors in 
the capacity aforesaid, according to the true 
intent and meaning of the donor or donors, 
grantor or grantors, devisor or devisors. 

Art. 3. — And whereas, by an Act of the 
General Court of the Colony of Massachu- 
setts Bay, passed in the year one thousand 
six hundred and forty-two, the Governor and 
Deputy-Governor for the time being, and all 
the magistrates of that jurisdiction, were 
with the President, and a number of the 
clergy in the said Act described, constituted 
the Overseers of Harvard College ; and it 
being necessary, in this new constitution of 
government, to ascertain who shall be deemed 
successors to the said Governor, Deputy- 
Governor, and magistrates, — It is declared 
that the Governor, Lieutenant-Governor, 



38 PROVISIONS OF THE CONSTITUTION". 

Council, and Senate of this Commonwealth 
are and shall be deemed their successors ; 
who with the President of Harvard College 
for the time being, together with the minis- 
ters of the Congregational churches in the 
towns of Cambridge, Watertown, Charles- 
town, Boston, Eoxbury, and Dorchester, men- 
tioned in the said Act, shall be, and hereby 
are, vested with all the powers and authority 
belonging or in any way appertaining to the 
Overseers of Harvard College. Provided , 
that nothing herein shall be construed to 
prevent the Legislature of this Common- 
wealth from making such alterations in the 
government of the said University as shall 
be conducive to its advantage, and the inter- 
est of the republic of letters, in as full a 
manner as might have been done by the Leg- 
islature of the late Province of the Massa- 
chusetts Bay. 



BOARD OF OVERSEERS. 39 

VI. 

An Act to alter and amend the Consti- 
tution of the Board of Overseers of 
Harvard College. 

Whereas the members of the Board of 
Overseers of Harvard College, as heretofore 
constituted, cannot conveniently nor con- 
stantly attend to the diligent discharge of the 
duties enjoined on it : — 

Section 1. — The Governor, Lieutenant- 
Governor, Counsellors, President of the Sen- 
ate, and Speaker of the House of Represen- 
tatives of the Commonwealth, and the 
President of Harvard College for the time 
being, with fifteen ministers of Congregational 
churches and fifteen laymen, all inhabitants 
within the State, to be elected as is hereafter 
mentioned, shall for ever hereafter constitute 
the Board of Overseers of Harvard College ; 
they, or the major part of them present at 
any legal meeting, to exercise and enjoy all 



40 BOARD OF OVERSEERS. 

the rights, powers, and privileges, and to be 
subject to all the duties, of the existing 
Board of Overseers of Harvard College. 
Pr ■'> '\ : . that all the ministers of 

Congregational churches whp are members of 
that Board shall remain members of the 
Board of Overseers established by this Act. 
so long as they shall continue ministers re- 
spectively of their Congregational churches, 
and no longer. 

[Sect. 2. — As soon as conveniently may be after this 
-hall be in force, the present Secretary of the 
Board of Overseers, or, if that office be vacant, the 
President or a major part of the Fellows of Harvard 
College, shall call a meeting of the Overseers of Har- 
vard College, to be holden at some suitable time and 
place, for electing fifteen laymen, inhabitants of the 
State, to be members of the Board of Overseers: the 
said meeting to be notified by publishing the time and 
place of holding the same, in each of the public news- 
papers printed in Boston, ten days at the least before 
the time of holding the same : and the said elections to 
be made by ballot, by the major part of the Overseers 
present : and all persoiis who then, if this Act had not 
been in force, would have been members of the Board 
•verseers of Harvard College, shall have right to 
meet and vute in the said elections.] 



BOARD OF OVERSEERS. 41 

Sect. 3. — The Board of Overseers, as 
constituted by this Act, may, at any legal 
meeting, choose by a majority of votes a Sec- 
retary, when that office shall be vacant, who 
shall be under oath truly to record all the 
votes and proceedings of the Board, and 
faithfully to discharge all the duties of his 
office ; and the said Board may at any legal 
meeting, by a majority of votes, determine 
from time to time when and in what manner its 
meetings shall be held, called, and notified: 

[and, at any legal meeting of the said Board, the Gov- 
ernor, if present, shall preside; if not, the Lieutenant- 
Governor, if present, shall preside; in their absence, 
the oldest member of the Council present shall pre- 
side ; if they also be absent, the President of the Sen- 
ate shall preside, if present; but, in his absence also, 
the Speaker of the House of Representatives shall pre- 
side ; and, if neither of them be present, the greater 
part of the Overseers present at such meeting shall 
choose a president pro tempore, and until one of the 
officers aforesaid shall be present.] Provided, 
nevertheless, that the Secretary of the Over- 
seers shall have power to call a meeting of 
the said Board, at such times as he shall be 



42 BOARD OF OVERSEERS. 

thereto requested by the President and Fel- 
lows of Harvard College : such meeting to be 
notified as the said Board shall direct. 

SECT. 4. — [When any minister of any Congrega- 
tional church, being a member of the said Board, shall 
cease to have the ministerial relation he now has, or may 
have had at the time of his election, or.] when any 
member of the elective part of the said 
Board shall remove out of the State, the 
place of such [minister or] member shall there- 
upon become vacant. And the said Board 
may at any legal meeting, by a vote of the 
greater number present, remove from his 
place any member of the elective part of the 
said Board who shall neglect to attend the 
meetings thereof, without reasonable excuse, 
when duly notified, or who by his immoral 
conduct shall have rendered himself unworthy 
of holding his place ; but. before any vote 
shall pass to remove any member, he shall 
have reasonable notice, and a fit opportunity 
to be heard in his defence. 

[ Sect. 5. — For establishing a perpetual succession in 
the elective part of the said Board, whenever a vacancy 



BOARD OF OVERSEERS. 43 

shall happen therein, by death, resignation, or other- 
wise, the Overseers may, at a legal meeting, by a ma- 
jority of the votes present, fill up such vacancy by 
electing therefor some suitable person, who shall be an 
inhabitant of the State. Provided, however, that no min- 
ister of any Congregational church shall be so elected 
when there are fifteen ministers of Congregational 
churches members of the elective part of the said 
Board, nor shall any laymen be so elected when there 
are fifteen laymen members of the elective part of the 
said Board; but, in all cases when there are fifteen 
ministers and fifteen laymen members of the elective 
part of the said Board, there shall not be deemed to 
be any vacancy therein.] 

Sect. 6. — This Act shall be in force when 
the Overseers of Harvard College, as hereto- 
fore constituted, and the President and Fel- 
lows of Harvard College, shall agree to accept 
the provisions in this Act contained. 

[March 6, 1810.] 

[The provisions of this Act were accepted by the 
President and Fellows on the 16th of March, 1810; and 
by the Overseers, on the 12th of April in the same 
year.] 



44 BOARD OF OVERSEERS. 



VII. 

An Act to repeal ax Act entitled " Ax Act 
to alter axd amend the coxstitutiox of 
the Overseers of Harvard College, axd 
to regulate certain meetings oe that 
Board. 

[Section 1. — An Act made and passed the seventh 
day of March, in the year of our Lord one thousand 
eight hundred and ten. entitled "An Act to alter and 
amend the Constitution of the Board of Overseers of 
Harvard College. * ' be. and the same is her : aled ; 

and the Board of Overseers, from and after the passing 
of this Act. shall be constituted in the same way and 
manner, and be composed of the same persons, and no 
others, that it would have been had the same Act 
never been made or passed. 

Sect. 2. — There shall be a meeting of the Board of 
Overseers of Harvard College, as the same vail be con- 
stituted after the passing of this Act. on the second 
Wednesday of the first session of the General Court 
annually, in the Senate Chamber, at three o'clock in 
the afternoon (unless otherwise ordered by the said 
Board of Overseers), if the General Court shall remain 
so long in session, and at such other times and places as 
the said Board shall order: at which annual meeting it 
shall be the duty of the Secretary of said Board, at 



BOARD OF OVERSEERS. 45 

the first meeting thereof, to lay before them the records 
and proceedings of the Corporation of Harvard Col- 
lege, and of the said Board of Overseers, which have 
been had since the passing of the Act aforesaid, which 
is hereby repealed; and, in like manner, all the pro- 
ceedings which may have been had by said Corpora- 
tion, and Board of Overseers, shall be laid before them 
at their next succeeding meeting, to be held agreeably 
to the provisions of this Act.] [Feb. 29, 1812.] 

[This Act was not assented to by the Overseers, or 
by the President and Fellows ; but its validity was de- 
nied by both Boards, and it was repealed by the Act 
on the next page.] 



46 BOARD OF OVERSEERS. 



VIII. 

Ax Act to restore the Board of Overseers 
oe Harvard College, and to make an addi- 
tion thereto. 

Section 1. — An Act made and passed on 
the twenty-eighth day of February, in the 
year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred 
and twelve, entitled " An Act to repeal an 
Act entitled ' An Act to alter and amend the 
Constitution of the Board of Overseers of 
Harvard College, and to regulate certain 
meetings of that Board,' " be, and the same 
is Hereby, repealed. 

[Sect. 2. — The Senate of this Commonwealth shall 
be, and they hereby are, added to the Board of Over- 
seers constituted by an Act made and passed on the 
fifth day of March, in the year of our Lord one thou- 
sand eight hundred and ten, entitled " An Act to alter 
and amend the Constitution of the Board of Overseers 
of Harvard College," and shall, together with the per- 
sons mentioned in the said last-mentioned Act, here- 
after constitute the Board of Overseers of Harvard 
College ; they, or the major part of them present at 



BOAKD OF OVEKSEERS. 47 

any legal meeting, to exercise and enjoy all the rights, 
powers, and privileges, and to be subject to all the 
duties, of the Board of Overseers constituted under 
the said last-mentioned Act.] 

Sect. 3. — This Act shall be in force when 
the Overseers of Harvard College, consti- 
tuted by the last-mentioned Act, and the 
President and Fellows of Harvard College, 
shall agree to accept the provisions of this 
Act. [Feb. 28, 1814.] 

[The provisions of this Act were accepted by the 
President and Fellows on the 10th of March, 1814 ; and 
by the Overseers, on the 17th of the same month.] 



48 BOAED OF OVERSEERS. 



IX. 

Ax Act in addition to " Ax Act to alter 
and amend the constitution of the board 
of Overseers of Harvard College. 

[Section 1. — Whenever any vacancy exists in the 
clerical part of the Board of Overseers of Harvard Col- 
lege, the Board, infilling such vacancy, agreeably to the 
provisions of the statute of one thousand eight hundred 
and nine, chapter one hundred and fourteenth, may 
elect any stated minister of a church of Christ, or- 
dained agreeably to the usages of the order to which 
he may belong. Provided, that when any minister so 
elected shall cease to have the ministerial relation he 
had at the time of his election, or shall remove out of 
the Commonwealth, the place of such minister at said 
Board shall thereupon become vacant. 

Sect. 2. — This Act shall be in force when* the Over- 
seers of Harvard College, and the President and Fel- 
lows of Harvard College, shall accept the provisions 
of the same.] [March 28th, 1834.] 

[The provisions of this Act were accepted by the 
Overseers on the 16th of February, 1843 ; and by the 
President and Fellows, on the 25th of the same month.] 



BOARD OF OVERSEERS. 49 



X. 



An Act to change the Organization of the 
Board of Overseers of the University at 
Cambridge. 

[ Section" 1. — The Board of Overseers of Harvard 
College, as constituted by existing laws, shall continue 
until the day of the next annual meeting of the General 
Court, and no longer.] » 

Sect. 2. — [The Governor, Lieutenant-Governor, 
President of the Senate, and Speaker of the House of 
Representatives of the Commonwealth, the Secretary 
of the Board of Education, and] the President and 
Treasurer of Harvard College, for the time 
being, together with thirty other persons, as 
hereinafter denned and described, and no 
others, shall [on and after the day of the next an- 
nual meeting of the General Court] constitute the 
Board of Overseers of Harvard College ; they, 
or the major part of them present at any 
legal meeting, to exercise and enjoy all the 
rights, powers, and privileges, and to be sub- 
ject to all the duties, of the existing Board of 
Overseers. 



50 BOARD OF OVERSEERS. 

r. 3. — The thirty persons, who. in addition to 
the ( x-oriicio members thereof, now constitute the 
Board of Overseers, Bhall be divided into three oh 
of ten each, by lot or otherwise, as they themselves 

may determine ; and the persons of the first class shall 
go out of office on the day of the next annual meeting 
of the General Court, and their places be supplied 

by joint ballot of the Senators and Representatives of 
the Commonwealth, assembled in one room ; and the 
persons of the second class si all go out of office on the 
day of the annual meeting of the General Court, which 
will be in the year one thousand eight hundred and 
fifty-three, and their places he supplied in like manner 
by joint ballot of the Senators and Representatives ; 
and the persons of the third class shall go out of office 
on the clay of the annual meeting of the General Court 
which will be in the year one thousand eight hundred 
and fifty-four, and their places he supplied in like man- 
ner by joint ballot of the Senators and Representatives. 
Provided, that the persons of each of the said outgoing 
classes shall continue in office for two months after the 
day of the said annual meeting of the General Court, 
unless their successors shall have been sooner chosen 
by the Senators and Representatives.] 

SECT. 4. — [When the Board of Overseers shall 
have been wholly renewed in the manner prescribed in 
the foregoing section,] the members thereof shall 
be divided into six equal classes [by subdivision 
of the previous classes into two each, according to lot 



HOARD OF OVERSEERS. 51 

or otherwise, as the Board may determine, and having 
regard to seniority of service among the said previous 
classes in arranging the order of precedence of the 
new series]; and the said six classes shall 
[thereafter] go out of office in rotation, and in 
order of precedence as thus defined, one at 
each successive annual [meeting of the General 
Court, and their places he supplied by joint ballot of 
the Senators and Representatives], (Commence- 
ment.*) 

[Sect. 5. — Any vacancy occurring in the said Board 
of Overseers, whether by death, resignation, removal 
from the Commonwealth, or otherwise, shall be filled 
by joint ballot of the Senators and Representatives, as 
hereinbefore provided ; and if the General Court shall 
omit to fill, within three months from the day of its 
annual meeting as aforesaid, any existing vacancy, 
then such vacancy may be filled by the remaining Over- 
seers ; but the person so elected to fill any vacancy, 
whether by Senators and Representatives or by the 
Overseers, shall be deemed a member of, and go out 
of office with, the class to which his predecessor be- 
longed.] 

[Sect. G. — The Governor, if present, shall preside 
at any legal meeting of said Board of Overseers ; if 
not, the Lieutenant-Governor; in their absence, the 

• I?y Actofl 805, see p. 58. 



52 BOARD OF OVERSEERS. 

President of the Senate ; in his absence, the Speaker 
of the House of Representatives ; but if neither of the 
persons named be present, then the meeting shall elect 
a president pro tempore;'] and the said Board may 

choose by majority of votes a Secretary, when 
that office shall be vacant, who shall be under 
oath truly to record the votes and proceedings 
of the Board, and faithfully to discharge all 
the duties of his office ; and the said Board 
may make, establish, and alter such rules of 
proceeding, and other by-laws, as they shall 
deem meet, provided that the same be not in- 
consistent with the constitution and laws of 
the Commonwealth. 

SECT. 7. — [Xo member of the General Court 
which elects shall be eligible to a place "in the said 
Board of Overseers ; and] no person shall be re- 
eligible for more than one term immediately 
succeeding that for which he shall have been 
first elected. 

Sect. 8. — This Act shall be in force when 
the Board of Overseers as heretofore consti- 
tuted, and the President and Fellows of Har- 



BOARD OF OVERSEERS. 53 

vard College, respectively, at meetings held 
for that purpose during the present session of 
the General Court, shall by vote have as- 
sented to the same ; provided, that nothing 
contained herein shall be deemed to prejudice 
any constitutional powers which may be pos- 
sessed by the General Court. 

Sect. 9. — All Acts, or parts of Acts, in- 
consistent herewith are repealed. 

[May 22, 1851.] 

[This Act was assented to by the President and Fel- 
lows on the 22d of May, 1851 ; and by the Overseers 
on the same day.] 



BOARD 01 

XL 
As A 

O BS - rHB U>: 8 xM- 

bri: 

Section 1. — 7 several Acta relal _ 
the organization <:: Board of Overseers 

of Harvard College shall be b - rued as 

to empower the - B 3ard to order and pro- 
vide, by rule or by-law number of the 
members :-f, not as 7an nine, shall 
I quorum or legal : _ of the 
e. 

_ — is Act shall ^ke effect from 
and after i> _ 852.] 



BOARD OF OVERSEERS. 55 



XII. 

An Act in addition to the Act to change 
the Organization of the Board of Over- 
seers of the University at Cambridge. 

[Section 1. — All elections to fill vacancies in the 
Board of Overseers of Harvard College shall hereafter 
be by concurrent vote of the two branches of the 
General Court. 

Sect. 2. — The members of said Board of each of 
the outgoing classes shall continue in office for two 
months after the day of the annual meeting of the 
General Court, notwithstanding that their successors 
may have been sooner chosen. 

Sect. 3. — This Act shall be in force when the Board 
of Overseers and the President and Fellows of Har- 
vard College, respectively, at meetings held for that 
purpose, prior to the first day of February next, shall 
by vote have assented to the same ; provided, that noth- 
ing herein contained shall be deemed to prejudice any 
constitutional powers which may be possessed by the 
General Court.] [April 6, 1859.] 

[This Act was assented to by the Overseers on the 
26th of January, 1800 ; and by the President and Fel- 
lows on the 28th of the same month.] 



56 BOARD OF OVERSEERS. 

XIII. 

An Act in relation to the Board of Over- 
seers of Harvard Collect:. 

Section 1. — The places of the successive 
classes in the Board of Overseers of Harvard 
College, and the vacancies in such classes, 
shall hereafter be annually supplied by ballot 
of such persons as have received from the 
"College a degree of bachelor of arts, or mas- 
ter of arts, or any honorary degree, voting 
on Commencement Day in the city of Cam- 
bridge ; such election to be first held in the 
year eighteen hundred and sixty-six : pro- 
vided^ however, that no member of the cor- 
poration, and no officer of government or 
instruction in said College, shall be eligible 
as an Overseer, or entitled to vote in the 
election of Overseers ; and provided, further, 
that no person who has received from said 
College the degree of bachelor of arts shall 
be entitled to vote for Overseers before the 



BOARD OF OVERSEERS. 57 

fifth annual election after the graduation of 
his class. 

Sect. 2. — The Board of Overseers shall 
annually appoint one principal and two or 
more assistant inspectors of polls, who shall, 
on Commencement Day, from the hour of ten 
in the forenoon to the hour of four in the 
afternoon, at some place in said city of Cam- 
bridge, fixed by said Board, receive the votes 
for Overseers, and they shall sort and count 
such votes, and make public declaration 
thereof, after the closing of the polls ; and 
said inspectors shall be provided with a com- 
plete list of the persons qualified to vote at 
such election, and no person shall vote until 
the inspectors find and check his name upon 
such list. The names of the persons voted 
for, the number of votes received for each 
person, and the vacancy or place in said 
Board for which he is proposed, shall be en- 
tered in words at length, by said inspectors, 
upon a record kept by them for that purpose, 



58 BOARD OF OVEBSEERS. 

which shall, after such election, be forthwith 
made up, sinned, and delivered by them to 
the Board of Overseers. The persons who 
shall receive the highest number of votes for 
the places or vacancies in said Board shall, to 
the number of Overseers to be elected, lie 
deemed and shall be declared by said Board 
elected to be members thereof. 

Sect. 3. — The Board of Overseers shall 
give notice of the place of the polls, the 
hours during which they are open, and the 
number of Overseers to be elected, by pub- 
lishing the same at least ten days before Com- 
mencement Day in some newspaper printed 
in the city of Boston. 

Sect. -1. — The terms of office of the ex- 
isting classes of Overseers are extended to 
the close of Commencement Day of the year 
in which such terms severally expire ; the 
terms of office of the classes hereafter 
elected shall successively expire at the close 
of Commencement Day each year in their 



BOARD OF OVERSEERS. 59 

order ; and the persons elected Overseers 
on any Commencement Day shall supply -the 
places of the class of Overseers which goes 
out of office at the close of that day, and the 
vacancies then existing in said Board. 

Sect. 5. — Whenever there shall be a fail- 
ure on Commencement Day to supply any 
places or vacancies in the Board of Overseers, 
the same may be filled by vote of the remain- 
ing Overseers ; and any person elected to 
fill a vacancy shall be deemed to be a mem- 
ber of, and to go out of office with, the class 
to which his predecessor belonged. 

Sect. 6. — ■ The Governor, Lieutenant- 
Governor, President of the Senate, Speaker 
of the House of Bepresentatives, and Secre- 
tary of the Board of Education, shall not be 
ex-officio members of the Board of Overseers 
of Harvard College after this Act shall be in 
force. 

Sect. 7. — This Act shall be in force when 
the Board of Overseers and the President 



60 " BOARD OF 

and Fellows of Harvard College resp 

at inee~ ings held for that purpose, shall by 

vote hiv ssented to the same. 

v : S. — This Act shall not be construed 
rare of a contract or a char! 
but may at any time be repealed at the pic - 
ure of the Legislature. [April _ v . 186S 

[ This Act was assented to by the Overseers on the 
21st of September 1865; :aid by the President and 
Fellows, on the 15th of December of the same year.] 



